1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an approval workflow management system, and more particularly to an approval workflow management system that uses a printing apparatus capable of enhancing reliability of an approval flow by prohibiting editing of files in response to user's file operation, the printing apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an approval workflow management system (electronic approval system) has come to be widely used by companies for approval workflow.
In the approval workflow file system, a file server for storing files, client computers for editing files, and printing apparatuses for printing out files are connected to each other via a network, for execution of an electronic approval workflow on the files.
An approval process, which has conventionally been performed by circulating a physical document between a plurality of staff members and putting approval seals on the document, is now performed as follows: According to an approval workflow controlled by a management server, a shared electronic document stored in the file server is confirmed using a client computer connected to the file server via the network, and an electronic approval process or rejection process is performed on the document (see e.g. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-101324).
In performing the above-described approval process using an electronic document, generally, a user as an approver prints out the electronic document by the printing apparatus connected to the network so as to confirm the contents of the document. The user confirms the details of the approval by the output document, and requests the management server to execute the approval process or rejection process from the client computer or the printing apparatus.
This causes a time lag between when the user prints out the file and when the management server performs the approval process, and there is a fear that the contents of the electronic document stored in the file server are changed during the time lag.
On the other hand, when an electronic document is shared between a plurality of users, there is widely employed a control technique of prohibiting the same document from being doubly updated simultaneously by more than one user.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H11-85598 discloses a control technique in which a file server storing shared electronic documents performs the check-in/check-out management of the documents. Once the file server accepts a request for checking out one of the shared electronic documents from a client, the file server prohibits the document from being newly checked out until the document is checked in or a request for canceling the check-out is received.
The above-described method makes it possible for a user to request the file server to explicitly check out an electronic document to thereby prohibit another user from editing the electronic document.
Further, there has also been proposed a technique in which a policy server that manages access rights to electronic documents is provided so as to limit user access to the documents for viewing, editing, etc. and the policy server prohibits editing of electronic documents for approval (e.g. in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-4549).
As described above, in the electronic approval-based approval workflow, there is a possibility that an electronic document in the file server has its contents edited by a user other than an approver between when the approver prints out the electronic document for confirmation using the printing apparatus and when the approver actually executes the approval process. If such an event occurs, the document based on which the approver determined the approvability thereof and the electronic document subjected to the approval process become different in contents. Therefore, the above-described technique has the problem that there is a possibility of being incapable of properly performing the approval process.
Further, there has also been proposed a technique in which in the case of a file server storing electronic documents being provided with a check-in/check-out management function, an approver checks out an electronic document for approval when printing out the same, to thereby prohibit the document for approval from being edited by another user. However, this technique requires the approver to explicitly perform a check-out process and a check-out-canceling process when the document is printed out and when the same is approved, respectively, which is troublesome for the user.
Also in the case of the technique proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-4549 in which the policy server that manages access rights to electronic documents is provided so as to limit user access to the documents for viewing, editing, etc. and the policy server prohibits editing of electronic documents for approval, an approver is required to apply an edit-prohibiting policy to an electronic document for approval and cancel the application of the policy, which degrades usability.